1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to a game of chance, and methods for playing games of chance, and wagering methods for games of chance, and more particularly to an improved system whereby methods of play include novel wagers enabling payback at true odds.
2. Related Art
Games of chance, such as Craps for example, are commonly played in casinos and now more frequently via electronic gaming terminals and in some jurisdictions via the Internet. Many current games of chance are familiar favorites that have a long and colorful history. The industry is starting to see a resurgence of table game popularity, as well as internet/electronic versions of these familiar old games. Clever variations in the wagering methods for many games of chance, like Craps as well as card games and other games of chance, is needed to further support an increase in the play of live games of chance as well as electronically delivered versions thereof and newly developed games of chance.
In order to describe the current need for improved wagering methods in many types of games of chance, it is useful to take a specific example. Some of the wagers made in the game of Craps will be used for this purpose. A detailed description of how these wagers are used in a typical Craps game follows.
The rules of play for the game of Craps, are generally the same in all jurisdictions in which the game is legally played. Also consistent is the table and equipment used to play the game in a live casino environment. A typical wagering layout for a Craps table is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Before the dice are rolled, any active player can make bets by placing chips on indicated wagering fields of table layout. These wagers and wager classes are well-known in the art and include: Pass-Line wagers; Don't Pass-Line wagers; Come-Line wagers; Don't Come-Line wagers; Pass-Line true odds wagers; Don't Pass-Line true odds wagers; Come-Line true odds wagers; Don't Come-Line true odds wagers; Field wagers; Big 6 and Big 8 wagers; Place wagers; Buy wagers; Lay wagers; Any 7 wagers; Any Craps wagers; Horn wagers; Hard-way wagers; and the like.
Each wager is associated with a pre-set payout ratio, meaning the proportion of money paid to the winner in relation to the amount placed at risk. Typical payout odds are shown in Table 1 below:
TABLE 1TYPICAL PAYOUT ODDS - CRAPSBetTrue OddsOdds PaidHouse EdgePass/Come Line251:2441:11.41%Don't Pass/1031:949 1:11.36%Don't Come LinePass Odds/Same as paid2:1 on 4 or 100%Come Odds3:2 on 5 or 96:5 on 6 or 8Don't Pass Odds/Same as paid1:2 against 4 or 100%Don't Come Odds2:3 against 5 or 95:6 against 6 or 8Yo (11)17:1 15:1 11.11% 317:1 15:1 11.11% 235:1 30:1 13.89%1235:1 30:I  13.89%Hi-Lo17:1 15:1 11.11%Craps8:17:111.11%C & E5:13:1 on Craps11.11%7:1 on 11Any 75:14:116.67%Field5:41:1 on 3, 4, 9, 10 or 115.56%2:1 on 2 and 12Field5:41:1 on 3.4, 9, 10 or 112.78%2:1 on 2. 3:1 on 12The Horn5:127:4 on 2 or 1212.5%3:1 on 3 or 11Whirl/World2:126:5 on 2 or 1213.33%11:5 on 3 or 110:1 (push) on 7Hard way 4/8:17:111.11%Hard way 10Hard way 6/10:1 9:19.09%Hard way 8Big 66:51:19.09%Big 86:51:19.09%Place 4/Place 102:19:56.67%Place 5/Place 93:27:54%Place 6/Place 86:57:61.52%Buy 4/Buy 102:12:1 + 5% commission4.76%Buy 5/Buy 93:23:2 + 5% commission4.76%Buy 6/Buy 86:56:5 + 5% commission4.76%Lay 4/Lay 101:21:2 + 5% commission2.44%Lay 5/Lay 92:32:3 + 5% commission3.23%Lay 6/Lay 85:65:6 + 5% commission4.00%
For the purposes of this specific example, the only important wagers are the Pass-Line, Don't Pass-Line, Come-Line, Don't Come-Line (collectively referred to as “Line” wagers), and the Place wagers.
In live Craps games, players typically make bets by placing chips in one or more of the wagering fields printed on the table layout (known as “self-serviced” bets), or by tossing chips onto the table and calling out the desired bet(s) (known as “dealer assisted” bets), or by making the equivalent selections in an electronic implementation such via a touch screen or computer keyboard. The table dealer's acceptance of a bet is known as “Booking” the bet, acknowledging to the house and to the player that the bet was made official. Booking of all bets on the entire table is finalized when the dealer calls out “All bets down,” instructing that all players stop making or changing bets in order to allow the game to proceed.
The game of Craps is played in “Sessions.” Each Session comprises the period of time one of the players, designated as “The shooter,” rolls two indistinguishable dice at the same time. Each dice roll generates two random numbers selected from the group consisting of 1 through 6. The two generated numbers comprise the “Roll Result.” The sum of the two numbers generated on a dice roll is the “Roll Sum,” or simply the “Roll.” A shooter's session will comprise at least one, and possibly many, “Rounds.”
The first or initial roll of the dice within a Craps Round is called the “Come-Out Roll.” The basic and most popular opening bet in the game of Craps, which is made just before the Come-Out Roll, is called the “Pass-Line Bet.” Pass-Line Bets are instant winners when the roll-sum of the shooter's Come-Out Roll is 7 (“Big Red”) or 11 (“YO”) (collectively known as “Front-Line Winner”), and instant losers when the roll sum of the Come-Out Roll is 2 (“Snake Eyes”), 3 (“The Old One-Two”), or 12 (“Box Cars”) (collectively knows as “Craps” or “Crapping-Out”). In all of these cases, (2, 3, 7, 11, 12), the shooter's next roll is deemed another Come-Out Roll, and the same shooter's session continues. Any other roll (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) becomes established as the current “Point Number,” or simply the Point. A small round plastic marker (“the Puck”) is usually used to indicate the currently established Point Number, and the table dealers then place the Puck upon the Craps table layout in a location that indicates the established Point Number. The Puck is placed upside-down in a neutral location before a Point is established, indicating that the next roll is a Come-Out roll.
To end a Round of Craps and resolve Pass-Line bets, once the Point Number is established, the shooter must roll either the current Point Number or a 7. Because unresolved Pass-Line Bets may not be decreased or removed, players must wait for a roll of either the Point Number or a 7 to determine the outcome of their Pass-Line bet; any other rolls have no bearing, and so an unpredictable amount of rolls is always required to resolve Pass-Line bets. If the Point Number is rolled (the number is “Repeated” or “Hit”), the Pass-Line bet wins (another way to be a “Front-Line Winner”), the current Round ends, the Puck is returned to the neutral position, and the same shooter continues his Session, wherein his next roll is another Come-Out roll. If a 7 is rolled, the Pass-Line bet loses (“Seven-Out” or “Seven-Ouch”), the current Round and the current Session ends, the Puck is returned to the neutral position, and the dice are passed on to the next shooter in clockwise rotation around the table to begin a new Session.
While a Point is established, players are not allowed to make new or additional Pass-Line bets. This is unfortunate, because many players at this stage would like the opportunity to make new or additional Pass-Line bets, especially given the possibility that many rolls could be required before the Round ends. To accommodate this desire while players wait an indeterminate amount of time for their Pass-Line bet to be resolved, the game of Craps provides “Come-Line” wagers. Players are allowed to make Come-Line bets only while a Point is established. These work exactly like Pass-Line bets, in that the first roll is an instant winner if a 7 or 11 is rolled, an instant loser if a 2, 3, or 12 is rolled, and any other number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) becomes the “Come Number” which these bets then win (if the Come number is rolled) or lose (if a 7 is rolled). Like Pass-Line bets, players are not allowed to reduce or remove Come Number bets once they are established. When a Come-Line bet is established, a table dealer moves the bet from the Come-Line wagering field on the table layout into a wagering field dedicated to the established Come Number.
This is not typically a self-serviced operation in live table game settings, meaning that the dealer must place the bet on the table layout. The reasons for this deal with issues of security. A given Come Number wagering field, as it usually appears on the average Craps table layout, is shaped like a square. Bets from multiple players must be kept separate from each other in this region of the wagering field. To do so, the stacks of chips for each player's bets are placed within the square according to their table position. Ensuring correct placement of these chip stacks, and preventing theft of other player's chips while the placement is being made, are the two primary reasons these betting operations are done only by table dealers. Of course, in electronic implementations such as touch screen betting, many of the otherwise manual dealer operations are done by the computer systems, and thus all electronic betting is made as self-serviced bets.
Comparing “dealer-assisted” bets with “self-serviced” bets in live table game settings, nearly all self-serviced bets are made in large wagering field areas that span the length of the table, enabling players to place their betting chips within these wagering fields directly in front of their table position. As shown in FIG. 2, the only exception to this is the “Don't Come-Line” wagers, which is large enough to accommodate multiple stacks of player chips, and it is left to the players to place their bets in the area without interfering with other player bets in the same wagering field.
Pass-Line bets and Come-Line bets, both for which Points are first established, are referred to as “Committed,” meaning they cannot be reduced or removed prior to resolution. Instead, the player must either wait for the resolution or he can “Surrender” the bet to the house, for example, if a shooter has rolled for a long time without resolution and the player needs to leave the casino. Craps rolls have been known to last more than 2 hours, during which time aggressive players can win substantial amounts of money. This is one of the reasons that Craps is very popular; players have an increased opportunity to win large sums if the current shooter has an extended roll session. This is sometimes referred to as a “Hot Roll.”
In addition to Pass-Line bets, players may make Don't Pass-Line bets, which work almost the opposite of Pass-Line bets. On the Come-Out Roll, a 7 or 11 are instant losers, a 2 or 3 are instant winners. If a Point Number is established by a roll of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, the bet wins if a 7 is then rolled, and loses if the Point Number is then rolled. If a 12 is rolled on the Come-Out Roll, the Don't Come-Line bet is unaffected (also called a “Push”). Thus, the Don't Pass-Line bets are not completely opposite of Pass-Line bets. This is done in order for the house to maintain an edge on Don't Pass-Line bets.
Lastly among the Line bets, Don't Come-Line bets (known as “DC” bets) are available which are only allowed to be made while a Point is established; a roll of 7 or 11 are instant losers, 2 or 3 are instant winners, 12 is a push, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 become the DC Number, which then wins if a 7 is rolled and loses if the DC Number is repeated. Pass/Don't Pass-Line and Come/Don't Come-Line bets are also referred to collectively as “Flat Bets” and “Base Bets.”
In most versions of the game of Craps, a player is permitted to make bets on some addition sets of wagers, all of which payout at true odds. A wager on a specific result that is won at true odds pays the player who made the wager according to the true odds of the specific result occurring. In Craps, for example, a player who has made a Pass-Line Bet for which a Point Number becomes established may then optionally make a separate bet known as the “true odds” bet on the established Point Number being rolled before a 7 is rolled. Similar true odds wagers are available to players after making Don't Pass-Line, Come-Line, and Don't Come-Line bets. True odds bets, or as sometimes referred to as “free odds bets,” are thus continuation bets that players can optionally make as an addition to one of the established Flat Bets. Each true odds bet is associated with the Flat Bet from which it continues on a 1-to-1 basis.
If, for example, $10 is wagered on the Pass-Line, once the Point is established the player then has the option to make the additional true odds bet associated with the Pass-Line's established Point. One could, for example, make a true odds bet of $20 on the true odds wager. There would now be a total of $30 at risk on the table and the player would win and lose both the original Pass-Line Bet and the true odds Bet in the same way the Pass-Line Bet is won and lost. In some respects, true odds Bets are similar to the double option in blackjack, in that the bet is optionally made in the middle of the game sequence. There are no known examples of popular table/casino games that provide true odds wagering options at the start of game play.
The amounts a player can bet on true odds wagers vary from casino to casino, and are usually limited to a ratio of the amount of the original associated Pass/Don't Pass-Line, or Come/Don't Come-Line bet (the Flat Bet), in respect to the true odds bet. This ratio is usually somewhere between 1 and 100 times the original Flat Bet. Casinos that offer Craps usually prominently advertise their true odds ratio to entice players into the establishment. For example, a casino may advertise “2 Times Odds” (also called “2×Odds” or “Double Odds”), “Triple Odds,” “10 Times Odds,” “100×,” etc. Another very popular wagering variation is known as “Stacked Odds.” For example, a casino may offer 3× on the 4 and 10 Points, 4× on the 5 and 9 Points, and 5× on the 6 and 8 Points. This particular example is known as the “Golden Triangle” as it is often compared to right triangles used in geometry. An important distinction here is the payout odds established for various wagers in a Craps game vs. the maximum ratio players are allowed to bet on true odds bets in proportion to the Flat Bets from which they continue; limitations on the amount a player is permitted to bet is completely independent from the payout ratio that the player will receive if their bet is won.
Unlike committed Pass-Line and Come-Line bets, true odds bets are not committed. True odds bets can be changed or removed at any time, whereas the original Pass-Line or Come-Line Flat bets cannot be reduced or removed once they are committed. However, this is not to be confused with Don't Pass-Line bets and Don't Come-Line Bets, as well as any true odds bets continued from these, which are all allowed to be reduced or removed. In fact, it is to the house's advantage to allow reduction or removal of these latter bets.
The reason that true odds bets are appealing to savvy players is that these bets are paid out at true odds. That is, the casino has no edge on true odds bets and therefore makes no profit from them. True odds bets are the only bets a player can make in typical casinos with 0% house edge. In theory, a player could play forever and never lose if the house has no edge. For this reason, true odds bets are especially popular with knowledgeable players.
In addition to the Line wagers described above, typical Craps games offer several other wagers that can be classified as “Single-Roll” wagers. The outcome of a Single-Roll wager is entirely decided, win or lose, upon a single roll of the dice. One popular example of a Single-Roll wager is the “Field” bet, where the player instantly wins if a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12 is rolled, and instantly loses if a 5, 6, 7, or 8 is rolled. Other “Single-Roll” wager examples include what are known as “Proposition” bets such as “Yo-11,” “Box Cars,” “Any Craps,” and “Big Red.”
In addition to Line wagers and “Single-Roll” wagers, typical Craps games offer several other wagers, all of which can be classified as “Persistent” wagers. A Persistent wager is one in which the outcome may be decided, win or lose, upon a single roll of the dice, or the bet may be a push and persist until the outcome is resolved or the bet is removed. Popular examples of Persistent wagers include all of the “Place” wagers, where players win if the particular Place number is rolled, lose if a 7 is rolled, and the bet(s) persists if neither is rolled. Other examples include all of the “Hard-Way” bets.
The Line wagers (Pass-Line, Don't Pass-Line, Come-Line, and Don't Come-Line) all have the common distinction that players making these bets have no control over the Point Number that gets established. This is the source of the term “Come bet,” meaning that the bet will be on whatever Point Number comes. However, those skilled in the art are well aware that players often have a personal favorite number and may prefer to bet on that favorite number as a roll sum. For this reason, the “Place” bets are provided. Place bets allow players to directly make bets on any of a specific roll sum, e.g., on their favorite number, regardless of the current Point Number at the table. However, Place bets all have a built-in house edge that exceeds the payouts made for Line bets. This is especially the case if players take advantage of “true odds” bets, as described above. And thus, Craps players are always faced with a dilemma to either make bets with better paybacks on whatever numbers come (Line bets), or to make bets directly upon preferred numbers (Place bets) which have less favorable paybacks (i.e., greater house edges).
The following example shows how this dilemma can prevent a player from betting on his preferred numbers, and serves as an example of how the game of Craps is played using Line bets and making the true odds continuation bets associated with them (known as “taking odds”).